He also stated that any changes now could seriously jeopardize funding, especially as far as RD was concerned. He also noted that the original agreement had been signed in March of 2008 but RD had not approved it because the city didn’t have funding at that time. RD was fine with the schedule and fees feeling they were reasonable for a project of that size. He stated if they cut too much from their fee schedule they would then be no longer able to provide adequate service.

There was one area in which Van Hout expressed concern for material testing which had been scheduled for $10,000. He felt this should be increased to $25,000, especially if they find the clay is not suitable for a liner. In order to do this, they must dig several pits at the site to make this determination. With this exclusion Widseth, Smith and Nolting were willing to take a 10 percent reduction in engineering costs from the original costs submitted to the project.

Another firm, Design Tree, represented by Jeremy Anderson also presented  a presentation to do the engineering work on the project.

Anderson stressed that he was the individual who hd done the preliminary engineering and had designed the  plans for the waste water treatment facility. He also had worked closely with RD to prepare the project for funding. He also was familiar with the city’s expectations of what they wished to have done.

Another area he stressed was that he was the engineer of record and had signed all needed papers to get the project this far.

Their quote for the project was $290,000, approximately $50,000-$90,000 under Widseth, Smith and Nolting.

There has been some discussion with RD regarding a change of engineering firms for the project. According to Mayor Larson, RD felt they would work with either Widseth, Smith and Nolting or  Design Tree, but discouraged the council from opening the project up to other engineering firms at this time. Especially since it was noted the project could be totally funded in March.

Even if the Public Facilities funding is not available, RD believes the project is still fundable.

Council member Merle Ferber said he was not in favor of switching firms at this time, mainly due to the experience of the team working on the project. Total experience of the Widseth, Smith and Nolting team was close to 100 years between the four.

When Design Tree was asked how this project would work into projects already under their consideration, they responded it would not be a problem because one of the projects may not be funded for this coming year’s construction.

Both firms were willing to begin work the following week at their risk, meaning if the funding was not forth coming there would be no additional charges for the work done.

Mayor Larson admitted the council had been dragging their feet a bit about choosing an engineer for the project because they were not sure they would get the funding. He told both firms it would be the council’s intention to make a decision on a firm at the December meeting and not later than the January council meeting.

When the mayor asked if any of the council members were willing to make a decision Thursday night, only one council person said his mind was made up.

City Clerk Lucy Olson and the waste water treatment operator indicated to the council they needed to consider tax dollars. Both felt Design Team would be more responsive to the needs of the city and were better “service” oriented.

In other business:

• Learned there may be a meter available to attach to an unmetered hydrant in town. This meter would need to be removed during the winter  months; but it was felt the hydrant would not be used during the winter months.
• Adopted a canvassing resolution stating the results of the city’s recent election for city officers.
• Learned that the limits of copper and lead did not exceed limits when city water was recently tested for these minerals.
• Discussed a request from Minnesota Department of Transportation regarding any city easements along Highway 55 and felt there would be at least two for water and sewer.
• Authorized the clerk and water operator to attend a water management seminar in St. Cloud during the month at a cost of $100 each.
• Set December 2 as the next regular city council meeting at 7 p.m.